Indebted Countries: 100 per cent Debt Relief

What criteria they will apply in deciding which countries are eligible for 100 per cent debt relief; and what progress has been made towards introducing such debt relief. [HL129]

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Chancellor of the Exchequer has said that, for countries eligible for multilateral relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC), the UK will, on a case by case basis, provide debt relief of up to 100 per cent, if necessary, and where debt relief will finance poverty reduction. Amongst other things, the Government will be seeking to ensure that money saved in servicing debt

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will contribute to educating the young and/or improving healthcare.

Countries have yet to be brought forward for debt cancellation under the new initiative. The UK is pressing the IMF and World Bank to move quickly on the timetable of countries that are eligible for retrospective treatment--i.e. those that have been through the process under the old HIPC Initiative, but who are eligible for higher levels of debt relief under the terms of the new initiative. We expect the first case to be discussed shortly in the World Bank and IMF Boards.

IMF: Transparency and Accountability

Lord Judd asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is their policy towards greater transparency and accountability in the work of the International Monetary Fund with particular reference to (a) the publication of background analysis and documents; (b) reporting by executive directors to national legislatures; (c) independent programme monitoring and education; and (d) stricter scrutiny of loan conditions to ensure that the social well-being of the people of the countries receiving such loans is paramount.[HL132]

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Government believe strongly that transparency in policy making, both nationally and internationally, is crucial in developing both the public support and the informed and educated markets we need to encourage stability and support growth and employment. There should be a presumption across the board in favour of the release of information. The IMF has a responsibility to lead by example.

The UK has consistently pressed for greater transparency at the IMF, and many reforms have been agreed in recent years. Key among these is the increased use of Public Information Notices (PINs) following executive board discussions of country Article IV reports as well as following discussions of policy issues and regional surveillance. A pilot project for the voluntary release of Article IV staff reports was agreed last spring.

Her Majesty's Government are committed to publishing the documents relating to their Article IV consultations with the fund. These have included the mission chief's concluding statement and the PIN following the executive board discussion. The UK has agreed to participate in the pilot programme for the voluntary release of Article IV staff reports. Following this year's Article IV consultations, we have (again) released the mission team's concluding statement and expect to release the UK report after it has been discussed by the executive board early next year. Because the pilot project began after the 1998 report for the UK had been discussed by the board, we were unable to release it.

The UK continues to encourage the fund to look further at ways to promote greater transparency and so reinforce public support for its activities and

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improve its own accountability. The Chancellor has proposed the creation of a new evaluation unit, inside the IMF, but reporting directly to the fund's shareholders, and in public, on its performance.

The Treasury Select Committee already takes evidence on UK policy on the activities of the IMF. The UK's executive director gave evidence last month to both the Treasury and International Development Select Committees. Her Majesty's Government welcome the proposal made by the TSC for an annual report on the activities of the IMF and the UK's role at the fund. The UK has also played a leading role in reforms to improve the IMF's focus on social issues. At the annual meetings in September, agreement was reached on substantial reforms to the IMF's lending instrument for low-income countries, the enhanced structural adjustment facility. This has been renamed the poverty reduction and growth facility and reformed substantially to enhance its pro-poor focus.

The UK has been the leading proponent of the development of principles and good practices in social policy currently being drawn up by the World Bank and UN. The Chancellor has argued that these principles should be used by the IMF and World Bank to shape the design of adjustment programmes in order to ensure that the burden of adjustment is not placed on the poor and most vulnerable.

The European Union and UK Jobs

Lord Pearson of Rannoch asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many British jobs depend on British exports of goods and commercial services to the other 14 European Union countries; and how many jobs in those 14 European Union countries depend on export of goods and commercial services to the United Kingdom; and[HL175]

How many British jobs depend on British exports of goods and commercial services worldwide.[HL176]

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: It is estimated that up to 3.5 million jobs in the UK are linked to the exports of goods and services to the EU from the UK and, on the same basis, that around 6 million jobs in the UK are linked to the exports of goods and services worldwide, including to the EU.

Given that the number of jobs in the rest of the EU linked to exports to the UK will be dependent on a number of factors which will vary between countries, it is not possible to provide a reliable estimate of the number of jobs in the EU linked to exports to the UK.

Lord Pearson of Rannoch asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 11 November (WA 229), how many more people, according to the European Commission's 1996 review of the impact and effectiveness of the single market, were employed in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) in the rest of the

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European Union because of the existence of the single market that would have been employed in its absence.[HL174]

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Commission's 1996 review of the impact and effectiveness of the single market noted that up to 900,000 jobs had been created across the EU as a result of the European single market.

Farmers: Mortality Statistics

The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:

What are the figures for morbidity and mortality of farmers and farm workers and their families for each year since 1980 for Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, motor neurone disease and tumours of the brain.[HL219]

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Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics, who has been asked to reply.

Letter to the Countess of Mar from the Director of Social Statistics of the Office for National Statistics, Mr J. Pullinger, dated 13 December 1999.

The Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has been asked to reply to your recent question asking for figures for morbidity and mortality of farmers and farm workers and their families for Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, motor neurone disease and tumours of the brain. I am replying in Dr Holt's absence.

The attached tables show details of mortality where the deceased is a farmer or farm worker since 1980 for each of the causes of death you requested. You should note that information on occupation is not coded for those aged over 75 at death, and information on mortality among families is not reliably recorded. Unfortunately, annual figures for morbidity among occupational groups are not available.